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      1.5.&nbsp;Help
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      <h4>
        Linux From Scratch - Version 8.0-systemd
      </h4>
      <h3>
        Chapter&nbsp;1.&nbsp;Introduction
      </h3>
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    <div class="sect1" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
      <h1 class="sect1">
        <a id="ch-intro-askforhelp" name="ch-intro-askforhelp"></a>1.5. Help
      </h1>
      <p>
        If an issue or a question is encountered while working through this
        book, please check the FAQ page at <a class="ulink" href=
        "http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/faq/#generalfaq">http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/faq/#generalfaq</a>.
        Questions are often already answered there. If your question is not
        answered on this page, try to find the source of the problem. The
        following hint will give you some guidance for troubleshooting:
        <a class="ulink" href=
        "http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/hints/downloads/files/errors.txt">http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/hints/downloads/files/errors.txt</a>.
      </p>
      <p>
        If you cannot find your problem listed in the FAQ, search the mailing
        lists at <a class="ulink" href=
        "http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/search.html">http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/search.html</a>.
      </p>
      <p>
        We also have a wonderful LFS community that is willing to offer
        assistance through the mailing lists and IRC (see the <a class="xref"
        href="resources.html" title="1.4.&nbsp;Resources">Section&nbsp;1.4,
        &ldquo;Resources&rdquo;</a> section of this book). However, we get
        several support questions every day and many of them can be easily
        answered by going to the FAQ and by searching the mailing lists
        first. So, for us to offer the best assistance possible, you need to
        do some research on your own first. That allows us to focus on the
        more unusual support needs. If your searches do not produce a
        solution, please include all relevant information (mentioned below)
        in your request for help.
      </p>
      <div class="sect2" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
        <h2 class="sect2">
          1.5.1. Things to Mention
        </h2>
        <p>
          Apart from a brief explanation of the problem being experienced,
          the essential things to include in any request for help are:
        </p>
        <div class="itemizedlist">
          <ul>
            <li class="listitem">
              <p>
                The version of the book being used (in this case <span class=
                "phrase">8.0-systemd</span>)
              </p>
            </li>
            <li class="listitem">
              <p>
                The host distribution and version being used to create LFS
              </p>
            </li>
            <li class="listitem">
              <p>
                The output from the <a class="xref" href=
                "../chapter02/hostreqs.html#version-check">Host System
                Requirements</a> script
              </p>
            </li>
            <li class="listitem">
              <p>
                The package or section the problem was encountered in
              </p>
            </li>
            <li class="listitem">
              <p>
                The exact error message or symptom being received
              </p>
            </li>
            <li class="listitem">
              <p>
                Note whether you have deviated from the book at all
              </p>
            </li>
          </ul>
        </div>
        <div class="admon note">
          <img alt="[Note]" src="../images/note.png" />
          <h3>
            Note
          </h3>
          <p>
            Deviating from this book does <span class=
            "emphasis"><em>not</em></span> mean that we will not help you.
            After all, LFS is about personal preference. Being upfront about
            any changes to the established procedure helps us evaluate and
            determine possible causes of your problem.
          </p>
        </div>
      </div>
      <div class="sect2" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
        <h2 class="sect2">
          1.5.2. Configure Script Problems
        </h2>
        <p>
          If something goes wrong while running the <span class=
          "command"><strong>configure</strong></span> script, review the
          <code class="filename">config.log</code> file. This file may
          contain errors encountered during <span class=
          "command"><strong>configure</strong></span> which were not printed
          to the screen. Include the <span class=
          "emphasis"><em>relevant</em></span> lines if you need to ask for
          help.
        </p>
      </div>
      <div class="sect2" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
        <h2 class="sect2">
          1.5.3. Compilation Problems
        </h2>
        <p>
          Both the screen output and the contents of various files are useful
          in determining the cause of compilation problems. The screen output
          from the <span class="command"><strong>configure</strong></span>
          script and the <span class="command"><strong>make</strong></span>
          run can be helpful. It is not necessary to include the entire
          output, but do include enough of the relevant information. Below is
          an example of the type of information to include from the screen
          output from <span class="command"><strong>make</strong></span>:
        </p>
        <pre class="screen">
<code class="computeroutput">gcc -DALIASPATH=\"/mnt/lfs/usr/share/locale:.\"
-DLOCALEDIR=\"/mnt/lfs/usr/share/locale\"
-DLIBDIR=\"/mnt/lfs/usr/lib\"
-DINCLUDEDIR=\"/mnt/lfs/usr/include\" -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -I. -I.
-g -O2 -c getopt1.c
gcc -g -O2 -static -o make ar.o arscan.o commands.o dir.o
expand.o file.o function.o getopt.o implicit.o job.o main.o
misc.o read.o remake.o rule.o signame.o variable.o vpath.o
default.o remote-stub.o version.o opt1.o
-lutil job.o: In function `load_too_high':
/lfs/tmp/make-3.79.1/job.c:1565: undefined reference
to `getloadavg'
collect2: ld returned 1 exit status
make[2]: *** [make] Error 1
make[2]: Leaving directory `/lfs/tmp/make-3.79.1'
make[1]: *** [all-recursive] Error 1
make[1]: Leaving directory `/lfs/tmp/make-3.79.1'
make: *** [all-recursive-am] Error 2</code>
</pre>
        <p>
          In this case, many people would just include the bottom section:
        </p>
        <pre class="screen">
<code class="computeroutput">make [2]: *** [make] Error 1</code>
</pre>
        <p>
          This is not enough information to properly diagnose the problem
          because it only notes that something went wrong, not <span class=
          "emphasis"><em>what</em></span> went wrong. The entire section, as
          in the example above, is what should be saved because it includes
          the command that was executed and the associated error message(s).
        </p>
        <p>
          An excellent article about asking for help on the Internet is
          available online at <a class="ulink" href=
          "http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html">http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html</a>.
          Read and follow the hints in this document to increase the
          likelihood of getting the help you need.
        </p>
      </div>
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